Life Satisfaction among Healthcare Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Private Hospitals in Ragama, Sri Lanka

Background: Life satisfaction is a dynamic process which goes on throughout one’s life, and it depends on various internal and external factors, which can be unique to everyone, including healthcare workers. Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the life satisfaction among private healthcare workers in relation to six factors: job type, age, level of education, income, perceived social support, and work stress. Methods: A sample of 210 healthcare workers, working at four private hospitals in Ragama, Sri Lanka, participated in this study. A survey with four instruments, including a demographic questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and The Workplace Stress Scale (WSS) was utilised for the data collection. The hypotheses were analysed by one-way ANOVA and Spearman rank-order correlation. Results: According to the results, participants reported a mean life satisfaction of 24.71 (SD= 4.85). The main healthcare workers (consultants, medical officers, and other specialists) had the highest life satisfaction (M= 27.80, SD= 4.19), followed by the nursing staff (M= 24.01, SD= 4.74), the associated healthcare workers (M= 23.75, SD= 4.74), and the minor staff (M= 22.52, SD= 4.09), respectively. The results also inferred that being a main healthcare worker, having post-graduate qualifications, an income above 90,000 LKR, and higher perceived social support are associated with higher life satisfaction, whereas being younger (18-35) and having work stress are associated with lower life satisfaction. Conclusions: The study shows that job type, age, level of education, income, perceived social support and work stress are significantly associated with healthcare worker’s life satisfaction. For hospital policymakers, these findings will be useful to implement effective solutions to improve life satisfaction of the hospital staff and their service quality.